This quarter it was the Marketing and Sales team’s turn to step up and show us the meaning of a launch party, and I have to say I was impressed by their efforts. The event started with a gathering in the boardroom (War Room, as we like to call it), which had been transformed, into a makeshift-curling rink – sans ice. The walls were adorned with curlers (not the hair kind), different rules of curling and our Q3 motto. We gathered around to hear Launch Host and iCompass Account Executive Stephen Orteza tell us the significance of our interesting Q3 theme and why it was chosen.

I’m sure many of you readers out there are wondering, “What the heck does Hurry, Hurry Hard mean?!” Well, we’re at the halfway mark for the year now, the clock’s ticking and there is still plenty of work to be done. In order to successfully complete our goals and projects we’ve got to ‘Hurry, Hurry Hard’. On top of the company and individual goals we’re responsible for each quarter, we also have some great projects in our ‘Ops’ (operations) world that tie directly into making our customers’ jobs even easier than before. We’re a dedicated team at iCompass, and our Core Values push us to strive for greatness every day. That’s why, at the peak of vacation season for iCompass and our valued customers, we’re pushing to go that extra mile – even with the challenge of time and busy schedules.

So, back to the Launch Party!

Our party consisted of a series of games – the first involving the makeshift curling rink I mentioned above. Each team had 45 seconds to push their ‘rock’ over the lines as many times as they could without pushing the rock too far so it hit the wall.

Joel Neustaeter, iCompass Account Executive and Game Host, led us to the next game, which turned out to be a game for the brain, not brawn. Participating in this round was Ed Milne, Marian Rampaceck, Lorelle Kjaarsgard and Rob Wycherley on Team #1 versus Francyne Coates, Albert Bos, Barry Byrne and Bill Pecor on Team #2. They had 45 seconds to fit as many puzzle pieces together as they could, and the tension was high! Continuous shouting of Hurry, Hurry Hard rang throughout the office (and the whole city block I’m sure) as each team tried to cheer their players on. At this point, we were tied!

The fun didn’t stop there! As soon as this game ended we were already onto the next course, and this one proved to be the funniest and loudest of all. We were given 45 seconds to pop as many balloons as possible using anything but objects or teeth. These pictures are too funny! I really felt sorry for the two floors beneath us during this round! Continuous popping, stomping and a whole lot of yelling probably had them thinking a war had started up here! Notice Paul Blanchets funny hat? It was his birthday and it is tradition around here that whoever has a birthday gets to wear that hat around!

Our two teams must have been very well balanced because we were still neck-to-neck! We paraded and yelled over to the next round, called Snake Eyes. We were given 45 seconds to roll as many snake eyes as possible. After Snake Eyes we marched up to the Mezzanine to find some ropes lying on a table and we had 45 seconds to untie as many knots as possible, and when we finished can you believe it – the two teams were still tied.

Our second to last game was equally as amusing as the previous rounds. We made our way in to the kitchen (still yelling) and found this table:

Usually, in this game the glasses are filled with a substance different than water but we’re still at work after all! I opted not to volunteer for this round because if I was full of water, how was I supposed to gorge myself with the delicious lunch waiting for me in the next room? With the sound of Joel’s air horn the water chugging started! I’ve never seen anyone drink water so fast before!

After 45 seconds our game ended and the only thing left to do now was determine the winning team and feast! Almost everyone’s tummy was rumbling – with the exception of some full bellies of water – and the smell of our lunch was permeating throughout the office! But, what would an intense game competition be if there wasn’t a tiebreaker at the end!? Yes, we were STILL tied and so we made our way in to the War Room to finish the competition with a tiebreaker. An aggressive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors would determine the winning team and who better to represent each one, other than Paul Blanchet, VP Operations, and Laurel Masters, Customer Account Manager.

It was a close game but inevitably Team #1 (my team) took home the win! As a reward, we got to serve ourselves first! When we filled our plates everyone sat together as one team – because that’s what we are at iCompass! It was a morning filled with laughter, fun and good food! We have a great group of people at iCompass and we are all appreciative to have one another and of course to have such a vast group of loyal customers whom we appreciate just as much! It is all of you who give us the strength and motivation to Hurry, Hurry Hard through these busy times to always make sure our product is improving and our customers are Raving!